Raid at Dallas Eagle

Jul 11, 2009

I don’t know any details, but it appears the TABC went into the new Dallas Eagle last night and had the bar shut down by midnight.

I missed the report (sleeping in until the ungodly hour of 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning), but my wife caught part of a report on NBC Channel 5 (I think) and heard that TABC “raided” (their word) a gay bar on Maple Street. I checked Instant Tea comments and found one from someone named David saying that TABC had come into Dallas Eagle and shut it down by midnight.

Friday night was the first night of grand opening weekend for the Eagle’s new home.

Like I said, I have no details yet – no idea if there were any “PI” arrests or if this were a situation more similar to what happened June 28 at Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, or to what happened opening night at the new Cherries where people were made to leave because of there were too many people in at one time.

was at the eagle….truly bizarre. Just flew into town friday evening. Had heard about the Fort Worth raid. I guess it want an isolated incident, but a pattern of harassment.

TABC guy was wearing a bandana mask (wierd…i kid you not), escorted by Dallas police. They took lots of pictures. Wish I had my phone with me so i could have taken pictures of them. They clearly wanted to be intimidating, but the crowd wasnt taking it. Unfortunately, they succeeded in shutting down the music and alcohol.

I wouldnt believe the eagle raid ….except i saw it with my own eyes….truly bizarre. Folks having a good time, when two big cops and a masked accomplice walked in. I thought they were just a couple more guys in uniform…although not very attractive!

Just flew into town friday evening. Had heard about the Fort Worth raid. I guess it wasnt an isolated incident, but a pattern of harassment.

TABC guy was wearing a bandana mask (wierd…i kid you not), escorted by Dallas police. They took lots of pictures. Wish I had my phone with me so i could have taken pictures of them. They clearly wanted to be intimidating, but the crowd wasnt taking it. Unfortunately, they succeeded in shutting down the music and alcohol.

I repeatedly said if Duncanville got away with closing down the Cherry Pit other towns would figure they could do as they please and come after other alternate lifestyle venues and this is exactly what is happening. You would think the cops and towns would go after some criminals and leave the rest of us alone. MsDawn

I was there. Early in the evening the TABC showed up and was giving the bar grief because their lliquor license did not display their new address. Bar management had received a call at 4.30 on Friday from TABC that they had not filled out the new “updated” form, and therefore could not sell alcohol in the new location. Liquor sales resumed shortly after management explaned themselves and they grand opening party resumed. After a few hours passed liquor sales were stopped again and there were Dallas police and TABC all over the place. They were confiscating liquor, and everyone was leaving. There had been a sting operation, and a sale had been made to an undercover minor.
Although I do respect the laws of this state that govern the sale of alcohol this is incredibly poor timing on the part of the TABC.

I was there when they came into the bar. Not really sure why they closed it down – something about a liquor license But the most disturbing thing about the raid was the “undercover” police officer who was in a mask the whole time. Quite unsettling…….

I think it’s just the gay bars… This is how the religious reicht forces are putting gays back in “their place” to discourage them from pushing for equal rights. It’s exactly the same to how racists dealt with “Negroes” seeking equal rights. They used law enforcement to harass and “teach them a lesson.”

This seems to be a clear cut wave of gay officially sanctioned suppression.

From what they said on News TV (T or F?), Eagle had moved but didn’t completely transfer its liquor license to the new location. I don’t know how moves happen but it seems like they were looking for a reason to raid it and shut it down. Now that they have been found to violate TABC rules, factions oppressing gays can probably leverage it to have their license revoked completely…

Just because the Eagle hadn’t crossed their “t”s and dotted their “i”s they used it to oppress us. This feels linked to the Fort Worth Rainbow Club.

I guess a “raid” is in the eye of the beholder. Like I said in a previous post, we were there and we didn’t observe any TABC agents or Dallas Police officers. All we knew was that alcohol sales had stopped and rumors were circulating about a problem with the liquor license. About a half-hour later, when alcohol sales resumed, half the crowd had left but we didn’t hear anything about a raid or undercover cops or sales to minors.

What I find unsettling is the fact that The Eagle moved to a new location across the parking lot behind its old location. People logging on from around the country may not understand that. We’re talking about a distance of about 100 yards. For TABC to be so demanding about a change of address on a license seems a bit unreasonable.

i really hope the GLBT community doesn’t see this as a “raid” like with the Rainbow Lounge – straight bars cannot operate w/o a license, gay bars are no different! I’m sorry…. you really should have made your liquor license your #1 priority (especially if you’re a what? oh yeah… a BAR) … getting it done the DAY of your grand opening was … Read Morepoor planning to an extreme. After being told once already to stop selling alcohol due to an issue – you should have made the best of it that night, got it settled the next day – and not have the chance of NEVER being able to do business again….. one night no sales? one year? hmm…

I was attending the Grand Opening of the new Dallas Eagle last night.
I saw two masked undercover officers in the group of Dallas police officers and TABC.
At least one bar patron/party goer was arrested for PI (Public Intoxication).

How do they get away with arresting you for PI when in a bar? Don’t you have to be out on the street causing trouble? GEEZ! Anyone going to the protests tomorrow night from North DFW? I am in Anna and want to go, but not alone. Thanks!

I will be there and I know of several others that will be at the protests in Fort Worth.

Yes, a person can be arrested in a bar for being publicly intoxicated. It is a strange way that the law is carried out in Texas. The problem is what is public intoxication. Here is an article on the problem. I visited with an officer about this myself and while he assures me that officers would use their discretion, it seems to me that these officers in the TABC, DPD, and FWPD are not doing that in many ways and depth.

I don’t know the whole story at Dallas Eagle, but as a person who is gay and supports the community, but can’t afford to end up with something like a public intoxication charge on my record, I am very upset by these actions. I am a school teacher and all I can imagine is that this would just be the excuse that my district would use to get rid of me. They already don’t like that I am an open gay man. Now to think I could walk into a bar, and boom, the next thing I know I am under arrest, even alledging things like this can ruin a career.

S.E.A: you might just be an ignorant twit if you can’t see abuse of power for the purpose of harassment and intimidation. You and Brian should form a coalition of doubters of whether anybody really does hate GLBT folks. Everyone loves gay people and never has singled them out for any sort of abuse, right? We hear about straight clubs being shut down so often don’t we? They all must have their I’s and T’s dotted and crossed to the letter of the law. Right? Somehow I really doubt that they do.

The fact is that all law enforcement is discretionary. There are so many laws on the books that could be enforced but usually aren’t. The Dallas Eagle “moved” to a new location only yards from their previous spot. Reportedly they had delayed their grand opening to be sure everything was okay with their liquor license. For some reason, they thought everything was good. I want to hear their side of the story. They might have goofed up, but a straight bar might have been reprimanded to fix the problem ASAP.

On the bright side, when they come around to persecuting ignorant twits, no one will be left to defend you.

Marlin, I am going to try. My weekend hangout was the Cherry Pit and we all know what happened to that. Personally I am a Bi Poly Domme Nudist ex swinger….grins~ and I run the NEAAL group in DFW which is a fetish group made up of various alternate lifestyle folks. Anything that attacks alternate lifestyle communities needs to be stopped. Feel free to send me more details about tomorrow at my email msdawn at msdawn dot com Thanks!

At 9am this morning the Eagle had been “Raided and Gays were being targeted, again.” By 3 pm we learn management has screwed up their License and a bartender sold a drink to a minor.

When a business has been licensed to sell ALCOHOL, there should probably be ZERO TOLERANCE when it comes to the laws, minor or otherwise. Just ask M.A.D.D.

For the last 6 hours me and my friends made 52 new Posters and we were planning some marching and candles and such for tonight. Now what – back to Fort Worth? We’ll spray over the “Eagle Raid” references.

A change of address??? Give me a break! JD and company have spent a lot of time of this and many other issues. Like a few others..I’d like to know how the TABC got their info?? A trader in the mists? Anywho.. the Eagle will return. I will call it the Phoenix in my heart from now on.
I have the upmost comfidence in JD and crew. A slip n judgement perhaps concerning the raid overall…but I can’t help sense a feeling of Nazi-ism in this whole thing.

The issue is uneven enforcement. There are a hundreds of “straight” bars in the DFW are (if not thousands) and only a handful of gay bars, yet 3 gay bars have been hit in a matter of weeks. That sounds much higher than average.

As for public intoxication, the excuse that drunks kill people driving is irrelevant. They are not driving in the bar – and not everyone in a bar is going to drive – that’s the point of designated drivers. It’s fine for cops to watch for drunks driving out of the bar but arresting them in the bar? If they aren’t causing any trouble? Seems a bit pointless. Further, this is also a matter of uneven enforcement. I live across the street from a straight bar and every night there are people crawling out of the place because they can’t stand up. In the 5 years I’ve lived here, not once has the place been “raided” for public intoxication.

It seems to me that someone is unhappy that the fags caused them trouble over the Rainbow Lounge incident and want to throw their weight around.

I was in attendance at the Eagle during the incident. It is very unfortunate that they interrupted a night of goodwill and celebration of a long anticipated opening in a new building just a few yards away. It is also ironic that Sherriff Lupe Valdez had appeared a couple of hours before on stage congratulating the new location and reminding us all to drive safely. The atmosphere of the Eagle during her brief moment on the stage made the crowd proud of our gay sherriff. Soon after the music was creating an atmosphere of happiness and joy. It seemed that the night was a huge success. Then the other shoe dropped. I watched as a group of Dallas and State Police officers (one completely masked and wearing a large jacket) stopped the music and the celebration. Although I couldn’t hear them, I watched as they gathered drivers licenses from the bar staff. The situation was intense and bizarre. We were told over the microphone that liquor service was ceased and that they could offer us soft drinks. Many patrons watched as the bartenders were each questioned and documented by the officers. The officers collected all liquor/beer and poured it all down the drain. It reminded me of Prohibition. I left at 12:20 and couldn’t help but to feel sorry for the owners and staff of the Eagle. They each worked so hard to have a successful Grand Opening and now, sadly ,their profit and everything that they worked so hard to produce would come to an abrupt halt. After watching this event, I strongly felt as though we (the gays) are being targeted. TABC and police were intimidating. This event has empowered me. It has reminded me of what my gay brothers and sisters have each had to do to stand up for the rights that I have today. For that, I thank you TABC.

@ Ed: Fom what people have said, it was a “ninja”-type mask intended only to hide the officer’s identity, most likely because that officer works undercover, and his ability to work undercover would be compromised if his face had been visible

If itâ€™s true that the Dallas Eagle didnâ€™t update its license when it moved, that could have been a big deal to the TABC. Indeed, thatâ€™s a huge deal with most states, as liquor and club licenses are often allocated based on geographic location, among many factors. Some have restrictions concerning proximity to schools, churches, etc.

the difference of 10 ft could have been an issue – this is why it’s so important to do a proper change of address for a liquor license….

This round of intimidation by the FWPD, DPD and TABC is pure F-n B.S.! I wonder how legal it would be for anyone else to march into a club completely masked and disguised in a threatening manner? I wonder how long they would live after storm trooping the place?

As for the minor being served, excuse me? The bartender served the minor? WHY THE HELL WOULD THAT TWIT MINOR GET PAST THE ID GUY AT THE FRONT DOOR?

It’s purely harrassment, and it’s time that we all rise to it, tell ’em we’re not gonna take, and roll out the war machines that we are. People who are oppressed reach a breaking point, and when that point is reached, there’s only one way to go with it: shove it back in the faces of the perpetrators and say, “hell no, jack!” I know now that I have every intention of attending the FW rally. I think coming from Dallas, it would be a good place…to bring Dallas with me when I go.

In another post, I mentioned that the DPD had always seemed to be supportive of the GLBT community, but, I guess I spoke too soon.Incidentally, Dallas had a GLBT incident less than a year ago, and Lupe Valdez was said to require a liason and sensitivity training for the homophobes, who thought “homosexuality was a sin.” Where is separation of church and state? I’m a Christian, but, I don’t want my bible clunked over my head by hypocrites who don’t give a damn about God, let alone spend 15 minutes attending services. I am pee-o’d big time about all of these situations.

Right now, incidentally, I am watching Michael Jackson’s video “They Don’t Really Care About Us,” and no truer words could be said. God bless him for reminding us that we were targets just like he was–and completely misunderstood. That mantra will be what my poster says. I have tons of HRC bright blue and yellow “=” sign posters that I’m carrying for those that are empty-handed. Dammit, this is Stonewall II, and pure b.s. that we’re still being harrassed, YES, HARRASSED for those naysayers that are posting, 40 years later.

If this isn’t enough to piss one off and galvanize the war machines, then nothing will. This is YOUR freedom as well as mine we are defending and, silly as it is, still having to FIGHT for.
RISE TO IT folks! We’re not gonna take forever. Let me go put some ridiculously over-priced government controlled gas in my army tank, and I’ll see you there, LOUD AND QUEER!

I know that there are many people that will back you and you staff in what ever happens. It has taken years and years to finally open the new bar, only to have someone to take it away, in one night. I feel that you did everything you could to accomplish the opening.

When the bar does finally open you’re true friends and patrons will be there. As a patron for ?? years I look forward to the that day I can walk up and the bartender and he will have my MGD ready.